Art of Simplicity
by Izaya Heiwajima
Summary: Izaya and Shizuo have shared this undeniably weird, but simple relationship for seven years. Shizuo decides to make his love obvious through two simple words on an equally simple day. Author's Notes: Durarara! isn't mine. Contains Shizaya.


Their relationship had never been traditional to start with. If Shizuo had learned anything, it was to not expect anything usual out of being with Izaya. The thing was, they had hated each other the moment they met.

Their emotions towards one another was so extreme that it couldn't be settled simply by whipping vending machines through the air and running on wild chases throughout the city. It wasn't that satisfying. All in all, when they first kissed, it really wasn't that surprising to either of them.

It wasn't like they went through some period of denial or even held it over the other's heads. That was never the point.

They had been each other's first everything- and only. Which wasn't very surprising. Girls and boys alike had been much too afraid of Shizuo's rage and strength to ever approach him romantically. Even if he did get Valentines showered on him or blushing stares, none of it really mattered when in the end, he didn't have either a girl or a boyfriend. To him, the gender never mattered. He just wanted someone who could be with him.

So naturally, he had never even had a first kiss. It didn't really bother him. There were more distracting things in life.

As for Izaya, sex had never once really appealed to him. Nor did the idea of loving an individual. As much as he adored the human race, focusing that love onto one singular person made him outright laugh. Sex was just as bad, if not worse. It shackled control of his own body and he didn't like that.

As for girls, Izaya had as much interest as they had in him: which was none. The only interest he took in women was the manipulation of making them jump off buildings. The idea of actually desiring one made him laugh harder than anything else. Were people so oblivious? Izaya was trademark flamboyant. He loved to make boys dote on him- which most of them did out of pure fear. If anything, he had a slight weakness towards boys. Not that he would ever admit or submit to that.

Then, of course, Shizuo barged into his life like the wild animal that he is. Heiwajima Shizuo was undeniably the most attractive person Izaya had ever seen. Within his hate blossomed something even greater. It was unavoidable and when they kissed, he knew the feelings were mutual.

Nothing was ever declared or asked. There were no loving confessions or sweet nothings. Neither asked the other to be their boyfriend. It was all assumed. Shizuo knew Izaya had no interest in being with anyone else, and the same went for the other. It was simple.

They also knew that they couldn't break each other. Shizuo had proclaimed to strike Izaya dead because if anything were to strike the flea dead, it should only be Shizuo. Nothing else made sense, nothing else was right. Izaya knew that if the monster of Ikebukuro were to die, he would be at the very hands of it. Likely enough, he would kill himself shortly after.

It was something Izaya, and Shizuo, had accepted from the moment they laid eyes on one another. They were the very epitome of duality. Living without the other didn't make sense. It was rain without clouds and trees without roots. They needed each other to counterbalance in their life and be who they were.

At the age of twenty three, their relationship had thickened both in hate and love. Izaya couldn't help himself but to hate Shizuo. It was as natural as breathing. The man had managed to make him feel everything humane about the world, things like desire, love, loyalty, and all of the emotions that came with those. He hated that. He hated that Shizuo could surprise him and throw him off. He hated that Shizuo could unwind him entirely. He hated that Shizuo was really the only person who could and would take care of him.

Shizuo hated Izaya because Izaya had to be the only person who wasn't afraid of him. He was the only person who could love a monster so entirely and fearlessly. He provoked Shizuo into fits of rage and laughed in his face for it. Despite this, next to Kasuka, Izaya was probably the only person who knew how to calm Shizuo down in the most critical moments of the blonde's anger.

When they made love, Shizuo throttled Izaya so thoroughly and completely that Izaya was often left a breathless, motionless mess. Shizuo would always boast about his triumph only to have Izaya straddle his hips and leave him motionless and breathless in turn. The two would fall asleep with victorious smirks and underlying smiles.

They were in love.

It wasn't complicated as some might make it out to be. It was the universally accepted truth. No one really said anything out loud about it, except for Erika, but sometimes it was just too obvious. Izaya was bluntly protective over Shizuo. He would viciously decline providing information about him to anyone, only to calmly rebuff himself by saying that he was the only one who needed to know anything. That much was true.

Shizuo in turn couldn't go five minutes without mentioning Izaya's name, affectionately or not, he couldn't get that damn parasite out of his mind.

They didn't live together but they often fell asleep together. They didn't usually eat dinner together or go on typical dates. Once in a rare blue moon, in cities miles away from Ikebukuro they would go to seclude themselves in their honest emotions. It was some of the most tolerable moments between the two. It was their secret time that they didn't simmer in hate.

It was on one of these days that it happened.

It was August during the Bon Festival and Shizuo had decided they should get away for the three celebratory days. One of the many carnivals was set up and the couple was waiting in line for a Ferris wheel.

"I don't see how you can eat all of that sugar. It's disgusting," Izaya said, observing the blond as he pulled blue cotton candy from a giant puff on a narrow stick.

"If by disgusting, you mean delicious, then it's pretty easy," Shizuo said, his mouth watering as he submerged the puff of pure sugar into his mouth. By now, he had eaten enough cotton candy that his tongue was a sticky blue. Izaya sneered and looked the other way.

"Don't expect me to kiss you anytime soon," Izaya grumbled, much to Shizuo's delight. The ex-bartender smirked and threw a heavy arm around Izaya's shoulders, yanking the smaller informant closer against his body.

"Aww, Izaaaya-kun, don't be so negative. You're going to ruin the night," Shizuo complained, and Izaya only grinned up at him.

"Isn't that my job though? I live every day of my life to bring you total dread and misery. As well as a nice touch of self-loathing," Izaya added, very matter-of-factly. Shizuo scoffed and continued to eat his sugary treat.

"Fireworks will be soon," Shizuo said, but Izaya didn't answer. When they got onto the Ferris wheel, they didn't touch. Instead, Shizuo stuck to one side of the bench and ate his candy while Izaya stuck to the other and excitedly peered out as they were brought slowly up to the very top.

"Nee~! Look at the view, Shizu-chan!" he said, his hands gripped tightly onto the railing as he leaned over to get a better look. It really was beautiful.

"Oi, flea! You're gonna fall to your death like that!" snapped Shizuo, yanking Izaya by the hood of his jacket and pulled him across the bench so that Izaya was instead pressed against his side.

"Jeez, you're really no fun."

Shizuo mumbled something but it was obscured by the cotton candy. Izaya glowered at that cotton candy. It was quickly becoming his new mortal enemy.

"No, you're the one cramming that thing down like it's your last day- hey! Are you listening?" Izaya whined as Shizuo seemed to listlessly continue eating the treat. No answer.

"Shizu-chan! Shiiiizuuuu-chaaaan!" Izaya started to bounce, slowly getting onto his knees. "Shizu-chan! Yo, protozoan! I know you can hear me somewhere in that mass of idiocy that is your head. Hey!" he shouted, waving his arms frantically to no avail.

He slid down onto the seat once more and huffed loudly. He hated cotton candy.

Then an idea developed in his mind.

"Can I try some?" he asked quietly.

"What? No, you'll hate it. It's all sugar."

"You never know until you try!"

"….Fine, but don't take too much."

"Shizu-chan is so selfish!"

With that, Izaya happily took the stick from Shizuo and inched over on the bench to give himself some room. He rose the candy up towards his mouth but stopped. Shizuo was watching him with an expectant expression upon his face.

That's when Izaya 'accidentally' dropped the cotton candy out of the cab they were in.

"Whoops! My hands are so slippery!" Izaya exclaimed, and he had to force himself not to laugh at the scandalized expression on Shizuo's face.

"You God damn louse! I was enjoying that! I'm going to _kill_ you!" he shouted, his rage already causing his cheeks to flush as he scrambled across the few inches to grab Izaya by the front of his jacket. Their whole cab shook and Izaya's laughter crackled through the air.

"Ahh! Shizu-chaaan! Don't be so rough!" Izaya whined, squirming below Shizuo's heavy body as the ex-bartender practically crushed him. He really could be so clumsy and careless with his strength. Not that Izaya particularly minded, but it did amuse him to no end.

"Off, off, off!"

When Shizuo got off of him, there was a look of murder on his face that had Izaya smirking.

"You make me so hot when you look at me like that."

"Shut up. You owe me another cotton candy."

"Yes, yes, you ridiculous animal. I'll get you another one later."

The two settled into a stoic silence as the Ferris wheel turned slowly until they were done with the ride. Izaya leaped off first, followed by a grumbling debt collector.

Izaya skipped ahead albeit flamboyantly, his arms swinging out on either side of him as he frolicked through the crowd. He was a good few yards ahead of his untitled-boyfriend but Shizuo could see him well enough. That fur hoodie was too trademark for him to ever miss.

He followed Izaya closely, not sure where the flea was leading them, but he didn't much care. He let softness sink into his heart when Izaya purposefully stopped to pick up a stuffed animal a little boy had dropped. Izaya was one cruel son of a bitch. He was a sociopath by no doubt and he had done horrible, horrible things to people _and _Shizuo alike that Shizuo would never forget. The guy deserved to be locked up in a mental warden and lobotomized but…

Shizuo knew that there were some parts of Izaya that were pure. Ironically enough, he would trust Izaya with his life. He would trust him with his death as well but that was something else completely. The crowd was dwindling as they headed away from the main attraction area and along the river that was lined aesthetically with cherry blossoms. Izaya had stopped by the bridge and was currently looking out and over at the sky.

Shizuo stopped where he was and just watched him. He had never expected a normal relationship in his life. Being who he was guaranteed that. He had never expected some homey little house with a brunette wife who made him dinner every evening when he got home from work. He didn't expect to have a simple relationship of holding hands and good-bye kisses and quiet I-love-you promises.

Still, he hadn't expected Izaya whatsoever. He had never expected to be taken so forcefully and so violently by one boy. It was so funny when he thought about it. Just looking at Izaya, no one would be able to suspect that the guy was practically a cockroach. He looked so small and frail at times. His body was well-kept, clean, pale, and undeniably perfect in every possible way. Yet, he was this missile that had been pre-ordained to fire directly at Shizuo.

It worked though. It really did and Shizuo could feel that love swathing over him in a haze. He walked towards his lover, his enemy, his best friend, and his most hated.

"Shizu-chan," Izaya said, though this time, the nickname was used as a term of affection. Much like when Shizuo called Izaya a flea in these moments.

He turned to look at him, and in this light, his eyes really did look red.

"Flea," replied Shizuo quietly as he came to the other. He placed his hand atop of the natural black hair and smoothed it back until his hand was rested against the back of his neck.

"Marry me," Shizuo said simply. No flicker of surprise or shock went across Izaya's face. But Shizuo knew he hadn't expected it. Not when the corner of Izaya's mouth twitched and especially not when a sincere, small, miniscule little smile graced that face of his.

"Yeah, I think I can do that," Izaya said simply right back, and he looked away from Shizuo and back to the sky. Serenity fell over them and Shizuo bent down to kiss the side of Izaya's head. It wasn't pre-planned or organized into some big ordeal. Shizuo hadn't even thought about it for a while. They hadn't discussed it. He didn't have a ring and he didn't have any idea what this would lead to but in the moment, he knew it was the right choice.

They were twenty-three. They had been together, technically, for about seven years. This made sense. That was their whole relationship to a tee. It all made sense in this illogical order of things.

Shizuo stepped up behind his fiancé, and placed a hand on either side of Izaya on the railing. He pressed up against him from behind and squeezed his arms in against Izaya. This man was his. In death and in life, he would forever be his.

No, they didn't have a traditional relationship. But their relationship had elements and qualities that made it stronger than any traditional relationship out there. It was something that the two of them were pretty okay with. Vending machines and flick blades included.


End file.
